Selective toilet flushing arrangement

ABSTRACT

A toilet flushing arrangement selectively operable to discharge different amounts of water from the toilet tank into the toilet bowl depending on the quantity and nature of the waste material to be flushed from the bowl. For this purpose a water level control tube is mounted over the discharge port of the tank, and provided within the walls of said tube at different levels vertically thereof are circlets of openings. Sleeves slidably received within the tube are arranged to block the flow of water from the tank through the openings into the center region of the tube when they are in their position of rest. Exteriorly of the tank dual actuating means are operatively connected to the sleeves in the level control tube and may selectively be manipulated to lift one or the other of the sleeves individually. When a sleeve has been lifted, water from the tank will flow freely through the unblocked openings into the interior of the level control tube and from there into the toilet bowl until the water in the tank has dropped to the level determined by the unblocked openings.

United States Patent [191 Johnson Sept. 23, 1975 1 SELECTIVE TOILET FLUSHING ARRANGEMENT [22] Filed: Dec. 12, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 531,858

[52] US. Cl 4/67 A; 4/34; 4/52; 4/67 R [51] Int. Cl. A61B 19/00; E03D l/34; E03D 5/02 [58] Field of Search 4/67 A, 67 R, 34, 37, 249, 4/41, 52

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,879,520 3/1959 Hollingsworth 4/56 2,996,727 8/1961 Rose 4/41 3,151,337 10/1964 Deniz 4/34 3,487,476 1/1970 Stiern et al. 4/52 X 3,758,893 9/1973 Smolinski 4/67 A 3,768,103 10/1973 Robinson.... 4/67 A 3,795,016 3/1974 Eastman 4/67 A 3,839,747 10/1974 Clark 4/67 A Primary ExaminerHenry K. Artis Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Kurt A. Tauchen [5 7] ABSTRACT A toilet flushing arrangement selectively operable to discharge different amounts of water from the toilet tank into the toilet bowl depending on the quantity and nature of the waste material to be flushed from the bowl. For this purpose a water level control tube is mounted over the discharge port of the tank, and provided within the walls of said tube at different levels vertically thereof are circlets of openings. Sleeves slid ably received within the tube are arranged to block the flow of water from the tank through the openings into the center region of the tube when they are in their position of rest. Exteriorly of the tank dual actuating means are operatively connected to the sleeves in the level control tube and may selectively be manipulated to lift one or the other of the sleeves individually. When a sleeve has been lifted, water from the tank will flow freely through the unblocked openings into the interior of the level control tube and from there into the toilet bowl until the water in the tank has dropped to the level determined by the unblocked openings.

8 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures U amt Sept. 23,1975 shw 1 of 2 3,9

KJ'S Patent Sspt. 23,1975 Sheet 2 of2 39%,554

SELECTIVE TOILET FLUSHING ARRANGEMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to water toilets. More particularly the present invention relates to the flushing mechanism of water toilets. Upon actuation the flushing mechanism of water toilets is arranged to release an amount of water from a. storage tank to rush into the toilet bowl under the force of gravity and flush waste materials in the bowl over a barrier into a discharge conduit that conducts them into a sewer. The amount of water consumed with each flushing operation is usually substantial, i.c. from 2 to gallons to properly flush even the largest potential quantities of waste material from the toilet bowl. Frequently, however, the amount of waste material in the toilet bowl is very small, and is in fact no more than fluid emptied from the human bladder; and it is unnecessary and wasteful in areas where water is in short supply, to spend from 2 to 5 gallons of water to flush liquid waste material from a toilet bowl. Yet there are other occasions when considerable amounts of solid or semi-solid waste materials have to be flushed from the bowls.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is anobjcct of the invention to save water in the operation of water toilets.

More specifically it is an object of the invention to provide a flushing arrangement for water toilets, that enables the user to release selectively a larger or smaller amount of water for flushing the toilet bowl depending upon the use to which it has been put.

Another object of the invention is to provide a selective toilet flushing mechanism, of the type described, that is compact and of simple construction and may easily be installed in water toilets of conventional design.

BRIEFDESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective of the water tank of a toilet into which my invention has been incorporated, with part of its front wall broken away to disclose components behind it;

FIG. 2 is a vertical central section through the water level control tube which forms part of the selective flushing mechanism of my invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view, partly is section, of the actuating mechanism of the water level control tube;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section through the water level control tube taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2 and viewed in the direction of the arrows associated with said line;

FIG. 5 is a horizontal section taken along line 55 of FIG. 2 and viewed in the direction of the arrows associated with said line; and

FIG. 6 is a vertical central section through one of the control sleeves of the water level control tube.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention a water level control tube is mounted upon the discharge port of the tank. At different levels vertically of the tube the wall of the tube is provided with circlets of apertures which determine the level of water that can be retained in the tank and hence the amount of water that may be discharged from a full tank depending on which of the apertures are opened and which remain closed. Means are provided in the form of sliding sleeves that normally block the free flow of water through these openings and which may selectively be operated by actuating means located exteriorly of the tank to unblock one or the other of said circlets of openings so that a smaller or a larger amount of water will be discharged from the tank depending on whether an upper or lower circlet of openings has been unblocked.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION In FIG. 1 the reference number 10 designates the water tank of a toilet which is covered at the top by a detachable lid 12 and has a discharge port 14 (FIG. 2) in its floor 16. Threadably secured to the port 14 in any suitable manner is a discharge conduit 18 which may be of elbow shape as shown, and which leads into the bowl of the toilet at a high level point thereof. To fill the tank with water, a water supply conduit 20 is provided that passes through the floor of the tank and rises within the tank in the form of a vertical pipe 22 to a suitable level where its outflow is controlled by a valve mechanism collectively identified by, the reference numberal 24. When the port 14 is closed, the water collecting in the tank rises to a level determined by a float in form of a hollow ball 26 of metal or rubber at the end of the actuating arm 28 that controls the position of valve 24. Valve 24 is normally open and permits water to flow from supply conduit 22 through a depending pipe 30 into the tank 10. When the float 26 at the end of actuating rod 28 reaches a predetermined level, the rod closes the valve 24 and the flow of water into tank 10 ceases leaving the tank filled with water up to said predetermined level. When the toilet is to be flushed, the port 14 is opened permitting the water in the tank to rush through conduit 18 into the toilet bowl and sweep any waste material from the bowl. After all the water has drained from the tank and the port 14 is closed again, the tank fills again up with water because descent of the float 26 has meanwhile opened the water supply valve 24.

In accordance with the invention I mount a water level control tube 32 upon the discharge port 14 within the tank, which makes it possible to empty the tank to different predetermined levels and thus allows different amounts of water to drain from the tank. The tube 32 may be made of metal or plastic material and its bottom end may threadably be engaged into the expanded upper end of a tubular insert 33 which in turn is threadably engaged with the discharge conduit 18 below the bottom of the tank as shown by way of example in FIG. 2.

The upper end of tube 32 is covered by a removable screw cap 35 and provided in the wall of the tube is an upper and lower circlet of openings 34 and 36, respectively, that provide access for the water in the tank to the interior of the tube 32. In the particular embodiment of the invention that I am about to describe, the upper circlet of openings 34 is located in the upper half of tube 32 and the lower circlet of openings 36 is located close to the bottom of the tube. Means are provided that block the free flow of water from tank 10 through openings 34 or 36 into the interior of the tube and through the tube to the discharge conduit 18, and which may be actuated individually to permit water entering through the circlet of openings 34 or the circlet of openings 36 to reach the interior of the tube 32 and hence the discharge conduit 18.

For this purpose collars of rubber or plastic material 38 and 39 are secured to the inner surface of tube 32 above and below the circlet of openings 34, and a cylindrical sleeve 40 separates the annular space of the tube 32 between said collars 38 and 39 from the central region of the tube so that the water in tank may enter the tube through openings 34 but cannot reach the central region of the tube for free flow towards and into discharge conduit 18. Having reference to FIGS. 2 and 6 the bottom edge of sleeve 40 rests upon and is secured to an annular disk 42 which in turn rests loosely uponthe lower collar 39. The sleeve 40 is of such height that its upper edge reaches the top surface of the upper collar 38. Said upper edge carries an annular disk 44 that may rest upon the upper collar 38. When the sleeve 40 is-in the described position which is the position illustrated in FIG. 2, water from tank 10 will reach and fill the annular space between the tube 32 and sleeve 40, but cannot reach the inner region of the tube 32 for free flow into the discharge conduit 18. Means are provided that may be operated to lift sleeve 40 and its annular disk 42 from collar 39 so that water from the tank entering through openings 34 may rush freely below disk 42 into the center region of tube 32 and down into the discharge conduit 18, until the water in tank 10 has dropped to the level determined by the circlet of openings 34. For this purpose a bar 46 is connected diagonally across the opening of the lower annular disk 42. This cross bar is provided with a centrally located guide slot 48 that is slidably engaged by a fillet 50 to whose lower end is connected a weight, such as the ring 52 shown in the drawings, which prevents that the fillet 50 may upwardly disengage itself and escape from the slot 48. The upper end of the fillet 50 is connected to a cord or chain 54 that leads upwardly through cap 33 to the outside and which may be pulled by actuation of an handle 55 in a manner to be described in greater detail hereinafter. For proper guidance the upper end of fillet 50 may be engaged in another guide slot 56 formed centrally in a cross bar 58 that extends diagonally across the opening of the upper annular disk 44.

The arrangement for controlling the escape of water from tank 10 through the lower circlet of openings 36 into the interior of level control tube 32 and hence into the toilet bowl is analogically the same as described in connection with openings 34. Collars 60 and 61 are secured to the inner surface of the level control tube 32 above and below the circlet of openings 36. Slidably received within the upper collar 60 is a cylindrical sleeve 62 whose lower edge is secured to an annular disk 64 that rests upon the lower collar 61. A fillet 66 is slidably received in guide slots that are provided in cross bars 72 and 74 which extend diagonally across the lower annular disk 64 and an upper annular disk 75, respectively. The lower end of fillet 66 carries a ring 76 and its upper end is connected to a cord or chain 77 which passes upwardly through the central openings of the disks 42 and 44 that form part of the control arrangement for the upper circlet of openings 32, and emerges from the top cap 35 of level control tube 32 to be .pulled upon actuation of a handle bar 78 (FIG. 3) in a manner to be described presently.

Mounted in and rising from the cap 35 of level control tube 32 is a pipe 80 that acts as the overflow pipe of the toilet tank 10 so that no separate overflow pipe is necessary in a toilet tank provided with the flushing mechanism of my invention. When the water level in the tank 10 rises above the upper end of pipe 80 through some failure in the operation of the floatcontrolled water supply valve 24, the water drains into the pipe 80 and passes through the central openings of the upper annular disks 42 and 44 and the central openings of the lower annular disks 64 and 75 into the elbow-shaped discharge conduit 18.

To permit a limited amount of water to flow from the tank 10 into the elbow-shaped discharge tube' 18 and hence into the toilet bowl, it is necessary to pull the chain 54 upwardly until the lower annular disk 42 of the upper sleeve is raised from collar 39. When this has been accomplished water will pour through the openings 34 and into the discharge conduit 18 until the level of water in the tank drops below the level of said openings. On the other hand if the lower sleeve 62 is raised, practically all the water contained in the tank will rush through the openings 36 in the lower part of tube 32 and into the toilet bowl. To speed up the flow of the water contained in the tank through the openings 34, these openings are preferrably made of a larger diameter than the upper openings 32 as shown in FlGS. 1 and 2.

To lift the lower sleeve 62 and drain most of tank 10, the upper end of chain 77 is tied to one end of a lever arm 82 (FIG. 3) whose opposite end is secured to tubular pivot 84 that is rotatably supported in and passes through the front wall 85 of tank 10. Secured to the outwardly projecting end of tubular pivot 84 is the aforementioned toilet handle 78 which is of customary design. To lift the upper sleeve 40 and drain the tank partially, i.e. to the level determined by the upper circlet of openings 34, the upper end of chain 54 is tied to the end of another lever arm 86 which is secured to v a pivot pin 88 that passes through and is rotatably held in the hereinbefore described tubular pivot 84 of lever 82. The pivot pin 88 is longer than pivot tube 84, and secured to its outwardly projecting end is the hereinbefore mentioned handle bar 55 that may be made shorter than handle 78, if desired, to indicate visually that its actuation will release a smaller amount of water from the tank 10 than actuation of handle bar 78.

The arrangement of my invention fills an urgent need in that it may save large amounts of water in millions of homes every day, it is of simple and compact construction, and it may readily be manufactured as a separate unit that can easily be installed as part of the toilet flushing mechanism in toilet tanks of conventional design. While I have explained my invention with the aid 0 a particular embodiment thereof, it will be understood that it is not limited to the specific constructional details shown and described by way of example, which may be departed from without departing from the spirit to establish communication between said water tank and said discharge port, and means exteriorly of said tank selectively operable to selectively move one or the other of said opening-blocking means individually from said first to said second position.

2. Arrangement according to claim 1 wherein said opening-blocking means arecylindrical sleeves slidably received within said tube.

3. Arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the openings provided insaid tube at lower levels vertically thereof are larger in size than the openings at higher levels.

4. Arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the upper end of said tube is closed by a cap containing a pipe that rises to a level above the normal water level in said tank to act as an overflow drain.

5. Arrangement according to claim 4 wherein the operating means formoving said opening-blocking-means pass through said overflow pipe.

6. A water level determining device for the flush tanks of water toilets comprising a cylindrical tube adapted for securement over the discharge port of the water tank of toilets having circlets of openings provided in its wall at different levels vertically thereof for admitting water from the tank in which the device is installed, into the interior of the tube, for each of said circlets of openings, sleeves slidable received within the interior of said tube for movement from a first position wherein they block the flow of water through said openings into the interior of said tube into second positions wherein they unblock said circlets of openings, said sleeves having central openings therethrough to establish communication between the water tank and the discharge port of the water "tank, and means located exteriorly of said tank and operatively connected to said sleeves selectively operable to shift said sleeves individually from said first to said second positions.

7. A device according to claim 6 wherein the upper end of said tube is closed by a cap which contains a pipe that rises a predetermined distance above said cap to act as an overflow drain in the tank in which said de vice is installed.

8. A device according to claim 6 wherein the lower one of said circlets of openings are larger in size than the upper ones. 

1. A dual flushing arrangement for water toilets comprising a water tank having a bottom and provided in said bottom a discharge port, a tube mounted over said discharge port and having openings provided in its wall at different levels vertically thereof for the admission of water from the tank into the interior of the tube and hence through said discharge port into the toilet bowl, plural opening-blocking means selectively movable from a first position wherein they block the flow of water through the openings at said different levels into a second position wherein they unblock said openings, said openingblocking means having central openings to establish communication between said water tank and said discharge port, and means exteriorly of said tank selectively operable to selectively move one or the other of said opening-blocking means individually from said first to said second position.
 2. Arrangement according to claim 1 wherein said opening-blocking means are cylindrical sleeves slidably received within said tube.
 3. Arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the openings provided in said tube at lower levels vertically thereof are larger iN size than the openings at higher levels.
 4. Arrangement according to claim 1 wherein the upper end of said tube is closed by a cap containing a pipe that rises to a level above the normal water level in said tank to act as an overflow drain.
 5. Arrangement according to claim 4 wherein the operating means for moving said opening-blocking-means pass through said overflow pipe.
 6. A water level determining device for the flush tanks of water toilets comprising a cylindrical tube adapted for securement over the discharge port of the water tank of toilets having circlets of openings provided in its wall at different levels vertically thereof for admitting water from the tank in which the device is installed, into the interior of the tube, for each of said circlets of openings, sleeves slidable received within the interior of said tube for movement from a first position wherein they block the flow of water through said openings into the interior of said tube into second positions wherein they unblock said circlets of openings, said sleeves having central openings therethrough to establish communication between the water tank and the discharge port of the water tank, and means located exteriorly of said tank and operatively connected to said sleeves selectively operable to shift said sleeves individually from said first to said second positions.
 7. A device according to claim 6 wherein the upper end of said tube is closed by a cap which contains a pipe that rises a predetermined distance above said cap to act as an overflow drain in the tank in which said device is installed.
 8. A device according to claim 6 wherein the lower one of said circlets of openings are larger in size than the upper ones. 